In June, the Liberals’ Bill C-14 on medical assistance in dying received royal assent despite widespread criticism that it was more restrictive than the Supreme Court’s ruling in Carter had said it need be.

Cost vs. Value is one of the principal tensions that plays out in Canada’s immigration policy – fears that family-class immigrants will be a burden on the economy without adding to it tend to trump any consideration of the value these immigrants will bring.

The language of tax law is often impenetrable for non-experts, so it’s a good thing the experts are keeping an eye on changes to it. One change proposed in the 2016 federal budget would potentially disrupt the “consistency, predictability and fairness” of the Canadian tax system.

For the second time this year, the CBA appeared before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to address the issue of the impact of court delays. The Criminal Law Section created an addendum that adds some details to its February submission and takes a focused look at the impact delays have in the territories and on indigenous people.

The Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act are both in need of an overhaul, says the CBA’s Privacy and Access Law Section, and doing that also means changing their supporting infrastructure – the host of administrative and procedural matters that directly and indirectly affect individuals asserting their information rights.

Somehow it never seems to be the right time to take the steps toward creating pay equity in Canada, despite numerous studies that show women are consistently paid less than men for equal work, or work of equal value. The most recent government study on pay equity is called It’s Time to Act – which could just as easily have been titled, Eventually it Will Be Time to Act.

Lawyers’ fees are subject to cost of living too, but those changes aren’t reflected in the contracts the federal government signs with realty companies to relocate civil servants. The CBA’s Real Property Section says that needs to change.

Should judges be allowed to return to the practise of law after leaving the bench? Well, they do, and have done, and it’s probably too late to ban the practice now, says the CBA Ethics Committee in response to an FLSC consultation. But that return should be regulated.

Pension plans are limited to owning a certain percentage of the shares that can be used to elect the directors of any company. The CBA’s Pensions and Benefits Law Section says that rule is out of date and should be eliminated.

You’re a temporary resident whose work permit will expire before the extension is granted and you have to leave the country to deal with a family matter at home. Do you stay or do you go? The CBA’s Immigration Section believes the answer would be clear if the rules were more reasonable.